Every minute, a truckload of food ends up in the trash in Germany. In Germany alone, this amounts to between 12 and 18 million tons of food every year, depending on the study (source: Thünen Institute, WWF ). Globally, one-third of all food produced is thrown away, which corresponds to 1.6 billion tons of food (source: Boston Consulting Group ).
Food waste: A definition
To put all these figures into perspective, it's important to understand what the term "food waste" actually means and what its definitions are. First, the terms "food loss" and "food waste" need to be clarified.
What are food losses?
Food losses refer to a reduction in the quantity and quality of agricultural, forestry, and fishery products intended for human consumption but not eaten. Food losses result from inefficiencies in the food system, such as insufficient access to technology, energy, infrastructure, markets, and transport, as well as capacity limits in the supply chain. Other causes of food losses include plant diseases, pest infestations, and climatic factors (Source: FAO ).
Food waste explained
The term food waste refers to the disposal of food that would have been suitable for human consumption. Food waste therefore occurs mainly, but not exclusively, at the consumer level and is mostly due to behavior or regulations (Source: FAO ).
What is food waste?
Food waste comprises food losses and food scraps. It describes the reduction in the quantity and/or quality of food along the entire value chain that was originally intended for human consumption – regardless of the reasons why it ends up in the bin (Source: FAO ).
Causes and reasons for food waste
Food is lost or wasted throughout the entire value chain. The reasons naturally vary depending on the stage. In Germany, this waste is comprised of harvest losses (5%), post-harvest losses (9%) (e.g., improper storage), processing losses (14%), distribution losses from wholesalers and retailers (14%), large-scale consumers (19%), and end consumers (39%) (Source: WWF ).
These figures vary slightly depending on the study, but one thing is always clear: a large part of food waste (in the countries of the global north) is caused by us end consumers.
Food waste in agriculture, supermarkets and elsewhere - many reasons
There are many reasons why food is thrown away. Fruits and vegetables are subject to strict trade or EU standards, which also place high demands on appearance. As a result, fruits and vegetables that don't meet these standards often never even reach the retail market. Overproduction also leads to food waste. To compensate for crop failures, for example, more is often produced than can actually be sold. The remaining shelf life that a product must have to be accepted by retailers also contributes to food waste. Further reasons can be found in the supply chains: these are often complex and don't allow for the reuse of food that has been removed from the normal cycle – even if it's perfectly fine! Both at home and in supermarkets, the "best before" date plays a significant role in food waste.
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